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CineVerse is a weekly film discussion group that explores the universe of cinema. We meet every Wednesday from 7-10 p.m. in Oak Lawn, Ill. at Oak View Center (4625 W. 110th St., click here for directions) in the theater or the room announced on building signage. At every meeting, we discuss a different movie, chosen by our members on a rotating basis. CineVerse is open to anyone 17 years and older. To join our group or for more info, e-mail Erik the founder/moderator at cineversegroup@gmail.com

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Turns out that Canada can export more than delicious maple syrup and stellar hockey players. The Great White North can also produce a quality flick, as evidenced by "The Red Violin," which was the subject of last evening's CineVerse discussion. Here's what we learned about the film:

WHAT IS MEMORABLE AND DISTINCTIVE
ABOUT “THE RED VIOLIN,” ESPECIALLY NARRATIVELY (THE WAY THE STORY IS TOLD),
VISUALLY, AND MUSICALLY?

·The movie uses three framing devices to tell its
story:

othe tarot card reading, which yields cards that
provide a foreshadowing for the different adventures to come;

othe auction, which we are continually brought
back to as: (a) the anchor that keeps us in the present and which brings
together the descendants of past players affected by the violin; and (b)
another means to foreshadow what we are to see next or eventually; and

othe violin itself, which passes from one
character, time and place to another and is the unifying thread of the film.

·The film jumps around in time and space, lacking
a conventional linear narrative. It employs flashbacks, flash forwards (in the
form of the foreshadowing tarot cards), and repetition by replaying scenes from
the auction but told from the viewpoints of various characters.

·While the auction and the character of Morritz
serve as important centrifugal hubs from which all these other stories are spun
off, the story works as more of a series of interconnected vignettes and brief
episodes; we don’t follow one central character throughout the whole film. Film
scholar Andre Loiselle calls this structure a “mosaic narrative.”

·The film is replete with diversity—consider the
variety of settings, languages (five are spoken: French, English, Mandarin,
German and Italian), characters, time periods, and tone. In fact, the tone
commonly shifts, from tragic to comedic to romantic to suspenseful to
anticlimactic.

·Additionally, The Red Violin relies on the
viewer’s intelligence to fill in the unexplained: the filmmakers don’t use titles
to inform us, for example, of where and when a particular scene is occurring—we
have to deduce this from context (e.g., dialogue, costumes, etc.). Likewise, we
aren’t told much about the auction winner or how the instrument ends up in
Kaspar Weiss’ possession or a monastery.

·Defying the expectations of many, the soundtrack
does not feature popular classical works played on violin. The score is
actually an original one created uniquely for this picture.

WHAT THEMES AWAIT DISCOVERY IN
“THE RED VIOLIN”?

·The ability of art to transcend time and space
and achieve immortality.

·Man’s inability to achieve perfection and
immortality, except perhaps through the things we create. In an interview,
director Girard said: “The sculptor’s only freedom is to choose a piece of
stone or of wood and eventually the nature of that thing will express itself
through his talent, maybe, but the notion of the artist as the creator of
things, the free will of the artist, I think are totally foolish…we submit
ourselves.”

·Man’s pursuit of this perfection, however, can
lead to disaster, disillusionment, pain and suffering, as underscored by the misfortunes
experienced by many who encounter the red violin.

·Music, as personified in the form of the red
violin, becomes a kind of living character unto itself in the film. Consider:

ohow the instrument seems to have the power to
transform the destinies of those who encounter it;

ohow it “gives rise” to the passions of, for
example, the man who uses it in his lovemaking; and

CAN YOU CITE ANY OTHER FILMS THAT
ARE KINDRED SPIRITS TO “THE RED VIOLIN”?

·Winchester 73

·The Dress

·Tales of Manhattan

·The Phantom of Liberty

·War Horse

·La Ronde

·The Lord of the Rings trilogy

·The Yellow Rolls Royce

·All the aforementioned movies share a common
thread, in which we follow one object (e.g., a car in the latter, a rifle in “Winchester
73,” a horse in “War Horse”) from person to person, place to place, and
adventure to adventure